Man Spends 17 Years in Prison Until Police Find His Doppelganger

Posted By Imhoff & Associates || 29-Jun-2017

Imagine spending 17 years in prison for a crime you didn't commit.
Even more frustrating, imagine every witness to the crime swears it was
you and describes you to a tee! This is exactly what happened to Richard
Anthony Jones from Kansas City, Missouri. Imagine how you would receive
justice if this happened to you and you didn't have a solid criminal
defense law firm defending you. Read the story below:

A man has been released from
prison after 17 years when witnesses admitted they could not tell him apart from
a lookalike.

Richard Anthony Jones, from Kansas City in Missouri, was convicted of aggravated
robbery in 1999, based largely on eyewitness evidence.

But two witnesses – and even the alleged robbery victim – have
now testified that they could not distinguish him from a local man known
only as “Ricky”.

Johnson County District Judge Kevin Moriarty ordered Jones's release
on Thursday, reported the
Kansas City Star.

Mr Jones, who had unsuccessfully tried to appeal his case numerous times,
learned of the existence of his look-alike from fellow inmates.

He brought the information to workers at the Midwest Innocence Project
and the Paul E Wilson Defender Project, who helped file an appeal in his case.

Lawyers quickly discovered that Ricky lived close to the Walmart at which
the robbery allegedly occurred.

At Mr Jones’ appeal hearing, they presented presented the plaintiff,
two witnesses and the prosecutor in his case with photos of the two look-alikes.
All four said they could not tell the two apart.

Judge Moriarty did not go as far as convicting his lookalike of the crime,
but conceded that no reasonable juror would have convicted Mr Jones.

Mr Jones only became the focus of the police investigation after one man
– who was admittedly on drugs during his only interaction with the
suspect – picked a picture of him out of a police database, according
to the defence. There was no DNA or physical evidence presented in the case.

Mr Jones, who maintained his innocence throughout his nearly two-decade
sentence – said finding his doppelganger was like finding a “needle
in a haystack".

“We were floored by how much they looked alike,” his attorney,
Alice Craig, added.

Mr Jones told the
Kansas City Star he will return home to his wife and children.

Imhoff & Associates, PC

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Vincent Imhoff is licensed to practice law in California, Illinois and
Pennsylvania. Scott Matthews is a partner of Imhoff & Associates North
Carolina, LLP. George Wooditch is a partner of Imhoff & Associates
Virginia, LLP.